Toy.



No. 652,073. Pafen'ted June [9, I900. L. BERG.

TO'Y.

(Applicauon filed Nov. 23, 1899.)

6N0 Model.)

WITNESSES INVENTEIS LU/EEERG By I RTTEJRNEY UNITED STATES aTnNT @rrrcn.

LOUIS BERG, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y.

TOY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 652,073, dated June 19, 1900.

Application filed November 23. 1899. Serial No. 73 7,9 8'7. (No model.)

To all whom it nzay concern.-

Be it known that I, LOUIS BERG, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toys, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in toys, and refers particularly to spin nin g-tops of the class which areadapted to be held by having the stems thereof contained in holders while being set in motion and which are spun by withdrawing cords from around such stems, the stems being ejected from the holders by the cord as it unwinds. Heretofore spinning-tops of this class have been made with the stems thereof of substantially the same diameter throughout their length. When a spinning cord was wound upon such a stem, a cylindrical body was produced which was practically the same diameter throughout that portion which engaged with the holder, and the diameter of such body formed by the stem and cord varied with the thickness of the cord employed, and it was thus necessary to have the aperture in the holder of sufficient size to admit the stem when the largest cord likely to be used was wound thereon. As the cord in use stretched and became smaller in diameter the fit between the stem and the holder became more loose, and consequently the top would vibrate and become more difficult and unpleasant to operate, especially while first starting to rotate.

It is essentialin order to have the top start to spin smoothly that a portion of the stem, with the cord wound thereon, should completely fill a portion of the aperture in the holder, and to be a practically useful toy it should be possible to use different sizes of spinning-cords.

The object of this invention is to provide a top of improved construction and form, arranged to be spun from a holder by means of cords of various sizes and to start in motion smoothly and Without Vibration or jar.

To this end my invention consists of the novel construction and combination of the parts hereinafter described.

' In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 isa side elevation of a spinning-top and a top-holder embodying my improvements, a portion of the holder being shown broken away to more clearly show the positionof the top when in the holder and also the manner of winding the cord thereon. Fig. 2 isa bottom view of Fig. 1 and shows the parts as they appear looking upwardly from below in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view showing aportion of the top-stem and parts thereon.

Referring to the several figures, 1 is the spinning-top and is shown constructed in my most approved form, it having a partly-cylindrical and partly-conical stem and an enlarged spherical or bulb-shaped upper portion. The cord 3 is wound around the stem of the top in much the same manner as is done in the ordinary spinning-top, one end of the cord being placed upon and near the end of the top-stem and being then brought around the stem and over the cord and Wound spirally and in a single layer upwardly on the periphery of the stem. The stem and the enlarged bulb-shaped portion of the top are formed integral, and the stem at its junction with the bulb is conical. This conical portion of the stem provides for entirely filling the upper portion of the aperture in the holder when the top is in the position to be spun. The elevation of the top relative to the holder is regulated by the thickness of the cord which is wound around the conical part of the stem and which engages with the upper part of the holder. The lower end of the stem is furnished with a conical tip 4,

(made, preferably, of metal,) and the point of the tip is located centrally and in the axis of the top. The said tip has a stem, and a ferrule 5 is placed around the end of the stem to strengthen it and more securely hold the tip in place. 1

The holder 2 consists of a handle member having a squared portion near one end, the said squared portion being bored through,and the aperture thus formed is of a suitable size to receive the top-stem when a cord is wound thereon.

To spin the top the cord is wound around the stem and the stem then placed in the aperture in the holder. The holder is then held in such a position that the top will be in an approximately-u pright position, and the cord around the conical part of the top-stem will rest Within and fill the upper end of the aperture in the holder. Upon quickly drawing the loose end of the cord it unwinds, and as it unwinds from the top-stem it throws the top out of the aperture in the holder.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a toy, the combination with a handle having an aperture, of a top having a body and a stem on which it turns, and having, uniting the body and stem, a conical portion whose largest diameter is greater, and smallest diameter less, than the diameter of the aperture of the handle, the dimensions being such that acord may be wound around the conical portion and stem and within the aperture, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a toy, the combination with a handle having an aperture, of a spinning-cord, and a top having a body and a stem on which it turns, and having, uniting the body and stem a conical portion whose largest diam eter,when

-wrapped with the spinning-cord, is greater,

LOUIS BERG.

Witnesses:

A. A. V. BOURKE, E. J. OCoNNoR. 

